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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAmazon Is Quietly Eliminating List Prices
In a major shift for online commerce, Amazon is quietly changing how it entices people to buy.
The retailer built a reputation and hit $100 billion in annual revenue by offering deals. The first thing a potential customer saw was a bargain: how much an item was reduced from its list price.
Now, in many cases, Amazon has dropped any mention of a list price. There is just one price. Take it or leave it.
The new approach comes as discounts both online and offline have become the subject of dozens of consumer lawsuits for being much less than they seem. It is also occurring while Amazon is in the middle of an ambitious multiyear shift from a store selling one product at a time to a full-fledged ecosystem. Amazon wants to be so deeply embedded in a customers life that buying happens as naturally as breathing, and nearly as often.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/04/business/amazon-is-quietly-eliminating-list-prices.html

Shandris
(3,447 posts)Well, that sure was easy. Thanks for the info!
The more any entity feels it needs to be 'embedded' in my life, the more confident I am that it means me ill.
EDIT: (To be fair, I had drastically cut out shopping from them in the first place. Full disclosure and all that. But there's still a big difference between 'most' and 'all'. )
ChisolmTrailDem
(9,463 posts)Igel
(36,553 posts)The price they showed was the price. Take it or leave it.
Don't see the difference. Never had independent confirmation of the list price anyway.
REP
(21,691 posts)I buy art supplies online because the art supply stores around here have limited selection. I know the MRSP of a particular set of pencils is $330.00 so anything lower is good, etc. Sometimes it's Amazon and sometimes it's not.
They can be a great source of information on items. I make every effort to buy elsewhere and most often do so, once in awhile the item is only available through Amazon and I will buy there, but for anything time sensitive such as for a Birthday or Holidays, I buy local or through a specific site.
FreeJoe
(1,039 posts)It lets you see price history and set price alerts. I have alerts set on about a dozen items. If the price gets down to my alert price, I get an e-mail.
dembotoz
(16,922 posts)no problem for me then...the best deal is when the cash stays in my pocket